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J. R. CUMMINGS.

PRINTERS DASH. No. 329,369. Patented Oct. 27, 1886.

N. PEYLRS. vmumo n hsr, Wnhington, I16v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEOJOHN R. CUMMINGS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN PRESSASSOCIATION, OF SAME PLACE.

PRINTERS DASH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 329,369, dated October27, 1885.

Application filed April 22, 1885. Serial No. 163,037. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN R. CUMMINGS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Printers Dashes and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

The object of my invention is to provide a dash suitable for use withremovable electro' type printingshells; and the invention consists in adash whose beard and face are raised on a strip of thin flexible metalby a depres sion in the under side of said strip, the plane portions ofthe strip on either side of the beard and face constituting the holdingflanges, in combination with a plane-faced 2o base-block and removableelectrotypeshells.

In the use of removable electrotype-shells the base-block is so near theheight of the printing-surface that a very thin dash must be used, andthe flanges for holding it down in place on the block must be very low,in order that nothing but the face may give an impression. I havedevised a dash of novel construction, which I find, from practicaltests, answers the purposes, and one that can 0 be easily and cheaplymade.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 represents a perspective view of thedash. Fig. 2 is a plan view of two removable electrotypeshells mountedon a base-block and separated 5 by my dash. Fig. 3 represents a sectiontaken on the line as at, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing thedepression in the under side of the metal strip.

A denotes a strip of thin flexible metal,

0 preferably of rectangular shape, which may be termed the body of thedash, from which project the beard and face B.

C represents the depression in the under side of strip A, consequent onthe formation of beard and face B. The plane portions of 5 body A, oneither side of the beard, serve as holding-flanges a.

E and F, Fig. 2, represent two removable electrotype-shells in positionon a base-block, and separated by one of my dashes.

In applying the dash to the block, one of the shells is first mounted,and then one of the flanges of the dash is inserted under the end of thefixed shell, after which the other shell is clamped to the block,overlapping the other flange of the dash. The blank portions of theshells, where they overlap the flanges of the dash, are trimmed or cutaway for an obvious purpose, as shown in Fig. 2, the metal of which thedash is formed being very thin, not thicker than a single sheet ofordinary news-paper,and, as the flanges usually underlie head-lines andbreak-lines, an apparent objection of a streaked impression has inactual practice little or no force. 6 5

To make my dash, I stamp it up from a thin sheet of brass, copper, orother suitable flexible metal; or I may take the proper impression inwax, and from this matrix take an electro-deposit.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is- Thecombination, with a plane-faced baseblock and removableelectrotype-shells, of a dash whose face and beard are raised on a 7:strip of thin flexible metal by a depressionin the under side of thestrip, the plane portions of the strip on either side of the beard andface constituting the holding-flanges, which extend under the adjacentedges of the shells, 8c by which the dash is secured in place, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN R. CUMMINGS.

VVituesses:

GEO. P. SMITH, E. O. DENIG.

